Today we are going to talk about such an actual and urgent topic as used car engines. It covers such questions as:
- What is a used engine?
- How Dubai used engines market works?
- How do these parts appear on world markets?
- How does the world market of used engines work?
- How are they saved in Dubai storages?
- How are they transported to various countries?
- What risks can be met by those people who buy used engines there?
A used engine is an engine removed from a second-hand car. It is a common knowledge that the majority of used engines are ‘initially’ sold in Dubai, the capital of the United Arabic Emirates. A lot of importers go to these places to find out what to sell in their countries. After they find all the details there, they buy the required goods, and then send it to their countries by marine containers and there sell at second-hand auto parts stores.
General idea of Sharjah market: Dubai used parts markets is located in suburban area, the biggest one is call Sharjah city. The market itself is comparative with small cities in Europe, which are located not far from the capitals. There you can find various parts for all European and Japanese car brands. All the parts come to the United Arabic Emirates from Asia (Taiwan, Japan), Australia, New Zeeland, partly Europe and USA. This is why Dubai can be considered as a transshipment point of used car parts, which are later sold all over the world by the retailers. Obviously, it makes economic sense to better buy car parts including engines in ‘first stage’ countries such as Japan, Taiwan or Eastern Europe, especially now when delivery expenses raised up twice or even triple time and when buying engines from UAE you would actually pay for delivery twice: first time is when engine is shipped from its origin country and these expenses are already included in FOB price from Sharjah, and second time is delivery from UAE to your home country. However, such big transshipments hubs also have some advantages and a lot of buyers are still going there.
Features of Dubai used engines market: The biggest market of used car parts and engines is located in Sharjah city. For some people, the place where used motors are sold looks like ‘industrial’ Oriental bazaar: the crowds of people, merchants and a lot of goods made of steel, carbon and rubber. However, on this bazaar you will not get any eastern fruits or sweets but used engines from various countries. While business owners are usually Arabs, the floor traders are mostly from India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, so they can speak some sort of English with their clients. The majority of motors come from New Zeeland, Japan, Tawan, South Korea, Singapore and Australia. One interesting and unpleasant moment: engines for Korean cars (Hyundai, Kia, etc.) are comparatively more expensive in Dubai market than the others. The trendiest Dubai car producer is Toyota and the most popular model is Land Cruiser. Most of European engines come to Dubai from Japan. These engines come from right-hand-drive cars made by EU companies e.g. Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, etc. However, not all the used engines are in good condition and local sellers are famous for “tuning-up” used engines.
How the engines are kept and transported: The way how all the engines and spare parts are kept in Dubai car markets leaves something to be desired. In fact, it looks like a row of piles of metal. The engines lay one on another and all these ‘piles’ are divided by auto brands: Volkswagen, BMW, Toyota, Kia, Ford, Hyundai, etc. Some of the engines and other car parts are kept in parts of bodies, for example, when a car was sold or utilized after road accident, its engine was not put out of body or its part. All the parts will be extracted for you right there. Some engines are connected to suspension, too. However, it is not so bad – this is just a principle of this business. What is really shocking –the majority of engines in Dubai are washed by water and kerosene for making their outlook as ‘a bit used’ or ‘brand-new’ before selling. It is not very good for determining the actual condition of motors, for ecology and safety of engines themselves. Basically, they spray all dirt out of the engine body to hide out oil leaks and also cleanup oil fill port to remove black carbon deposits or sludge build-ups under the oil cap to make engine inside compartment look nice and clean. Of course, it does not anyhow improve engine condition and once you take out valve cover you will still see all the sludge inside, however very few buyer will do it. Moreover, if a Dubai businessman does not care of their goods and does not cover them, the engines can become rusty. Of course, all the engines are checked before selling: diesel ones are started ‘on floor’ and petrol ones are checked visually. The way how the motors are transported also is not very careful: they are put into old trucks by forklifts and then are driven to sea ports and packed to 10, 20 and 40ft sea containers. Also noone put out any rubber parts from engines. On the engines there are used body parts laid there in these containers.
As any second hand part was used by another person before, the market of second-hand used engines is quite complicated: the quality is not always equal to the price or to your wishes. When is it better to overhaul the engine and when to buy a used one? Of course, there is the third option: to buy a new one, e.g. Hyundai and Kia new engines will be cheaper than engine repairing. The main criterion is the price of the engine: it must be proportional to the cost of your car. For example, if a new engine or overhaul are more expensive than the money you spent for the car, it is better to utilize the car than to repair it.
Risks: When you buy any used goods anywhere, you have to accept several risks. The idea of buying second-hand product is full of risk too: you prefer the lower price to 100% guarantee. That is why all the businessmen who buy used engines from Dubai have to take the risk of losing the money which was spent for them. A client has a risk to get a spoilt good which will be too hard to give back and get your money. All this is made more complicated by the fact that all the traders in Dubai want to cheat on retailers and sell less quality engines for more money. The market of used engines retailing, especially in Emirates market is really full of risks. And of course you should remember about the fact that some parts appear in Dubai market after car accidents, so it is better to check everything twice before buying.
All that shows us that purchasing used engines in Dubai is both risky and overpriced compared to countries of original export. It makes possible to buy an unqualified good which seems to be a nice one. Moreover, you can spend there too much, quite more than it really costs. The fact is that you can pay less and get a better quality if you buy the used engine directly from the original scrap yards, such as in Japan or Taiwan.